South China's Yunnan Province have invited public bids for the Yangzonghai Lake project in the hope of taking advantage of advanced technology to prevent water pollution.

The 30 square km Yangzonghai Lake is one of nine plateau lakes in Yunnan. Arsenic pollution caused by waste charges from a lakeside factory has recently been discovered in the lake. [Chinanews.com].

The project was launched by the Yunnan provincial government, and Yunnan Science and Technology Department will manage a tender directed towards global investors.

One target of the project is to quantify the arsenic entering Yangzonghai Lake through groundwater. Another main objective is a short-term reduction in contamination to <0.1 mg/l through filtering, reduction, absorption and separation. Over the next three years it is intended to reduce the arsenic content to 0.05 mg/l from its current level of 0.128 mg/l.

Global bidders who meet the tendering conditions are eligible to make a pre-qualified application and participate in the bid.

Yangzonghai Lake is one of nine plateau lakes in Yunnan. It extends over 30 square kilometers and lies 36 kilometers from Kunming, the capital city of Yunnan.

The lake has offered good quality water since 2002. But in June 2008, the provincial Environmental Protection Department found abnormal levels of arsenic in the lake. An urgent investigation of businesses alongside the lake was conducted and tests showed the lake was indeed polluted with arsenic. To restore the water quality to third grade standard will take at least three years.

The initial investigation showed the source of the pollution to be a company called Yunnan Chengjiang Jinye Industrial and Trade Co., Ltd. An absence of wastewater treatment was allowing arsenic to circulate through the company's water systems. Even worse, there was no anti-seepage treatment of the waste filtering into the ground water that led to the polluting of Yangzonghai Lake.

The company has been closed and the investigation will continue.

(China.org.cn by Wu Huanshu October 15, 2008)